"Our goal is to try to change the face of pastry a little bit here in the U.S.," Jacquy Pfeiffer said.

Jacquy Pfeiffer's childhood in France sounds like a dream. He grew up in a small Alsatian village. His father owned a bakery, and Pfeiffer worked beside him crafting cakes, éclairs and cream puffs.

"At the time it didn't feel magical at all," Pfeiffer said. "It was like forced labor."

Eventually, though, Pfeiffer realized that sweets were his calling. Today he is one of the most respected pastry chefs in the United States. He starred in the D.A. Pennebaker's 2010 documentary "Kings of Pastry." He co-founded and runs Chicago's French Pastry School. And he just published "The Art of French Pastry" (Knopf), a cookbook as detailed as a mechanical engineering text.

This weekend, Pfeiffer will be in New Orleans for two free pastry demonstrations at the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Saturday (Feb. 1) and Sucré on Sunday (Feb. 2).

Pfeiffer now views his upbringing differently.

"It was just wonderful looking back," he said. "I wish more parents would involve their children in what they do. That's when you realize what your parents are going through trying to make a living and raise kids."

After passing through an apprenticeship in Strasbourg, Pfeiffer eventually found himself in Asia, at one point baking sweet treats for the Sultan of Brunei.

"After four years in Asia," he said, "I was tired of eating rice."

In 1991, he arrived in Chicago and settled permanently in the United States.

He was startled by the American appetite.

"The amount that people eat is staggering," he said.

One time he saw a bakery case filled with foot-long éclairs. Pfeiffer tracked down a manager to tell him some misguided baker had mistakenly made the éclairs too big.

Pfeiffer, though, liked the efficiency of American business. And he appreciated our country's work ethic.

"Not many young people in France want to work in pastry," he said. "They don't want to work the long hours. The don't want to work weekends. They don't want to work."

Americans were more than willing to work. What Pfeiffer found as he oversaw desserts and baking at a large Chicago hotel, however, was that not enough of them knew how to work with pastries.

The dearth of qualified pastry chefs prompted him in 1991 to co-found with Sébastien Canonne the French Pastry School.

Jacquy Pfeiffer's "The Art of French Pastry"

What: Renowned French pastry chef Jacquy talks about his and his book at a series of free demonstrations.

Note: Maple Street bookstore will sell "The Art of French Pastry" at both demonstrations. The store (7523 Maple St.) will also hold a separate book signing and reading Monday (Feb. 3) at 11 a.m.

Tariq Hanna, Sucré's executive pastry chef, has long admired Pfeiffer and his school.

"People come to me and say they want to do pastry," Hanna said. "I tell them, if you want to go to pastry school, you only go to one school."

Pfeiffer trains his students to make delicious desserts, but he also wants to nudge America towards a better way of eating that's less processed and relies on fewer chemicals.

"Our goal is to try to change the face of pastry a little bit here in the U.S.," he said. "In my lifetime, I'll be able to just scratch the surface."

His students, he hopes, will continue that mission.

Pfeiffer, who emphasizes traditional French pastries, also wants to educate people who will never do more than eat a tart or a macaron. His book "The Art of French Pastry," although intended for home cooks, is also an intellectual feast for the curious gourmet.

"I think it's important to understand pastry as a whole, how they are made, how they should be eaten, how they should be cared for," he said. "People need to know about the entire spectrum of gastronomy, because everything is connected."

For Pfeiffer, though, what matters most is pastry.

"I use pastry to make a statement about many different things in life," he said. "We use pastry to bring happiness to people around us."